First Detection of a Novel Posavirus 2 Strain Identified from Pigs in China

Porcine stool-associated RNA virus (Posavirus) is an unclassified virus with sequence similarity to viruses in the order of Picornaviridae. In China, lineage 1 Posavirus (Posavirus 1) has been circulating in the field since its initial emergence in 2014 however no other lineages have been reported. To investigate the genetic diversity of Posavirus in China, 1200 diarrheic samples were collected from pigs in China. Following high-throughput and Sanger sequencing, one complete genome sequence of a Posavirus (designated SC01) strain was obtained. The genome of SC01 strain was 10217 nucleotides in length and encoded a polyprotein of 3346 amino acids. Genome comparative analysis revealed that SC01 shared 85.6% nucleotide similarity to Posavirus 2 strains, but only 35.2-58.0% sequence identity with Posavirus 1 and 3-12 strains. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the SC01 was classified in Posavirus 2 and clustered into a separate branch with the American Posavirus 2 isolates, indicating that the SC01 is a Posavirus 2 strain. Notably, a novel 1-amino acid deletion was observed in polyprotein at amino acid position 147. This is the first report of the presence of Posavirus 2 in China, and the genomic data of SC01 provides insights into the genetic diversity and evolution of Posavirus in the region.